Thursday, September 27, 2012

If you haven’t already, you HAVE to watch this video. It’s amazing. “Save Maryam” is an Islamic campaign aimed at stopping the trend of “2 million” Muslims in Indonesia who are converting to Christianity each year. Here is the video:

Some quick thoughts…

The misuse of statistics, sensationalism, and prevailing sense of dread reminds me of the Muslim Demographic Video created by Christians that went around a couple years ago. Why do so many assume fear is the best motivator?

They recognize the contextual use of terms done by Christians. Is this what Muslims think is effective to reach them?

The “2 million” number definitely raises a red flag. If only we were doing as well as the radicals claim we are! If you explore a bit on the group’s website, you can see their commentary on that number:

“1. We are not saying that 2million is census based fact or International Crisis Group statement, rather we are saying that the ICG report indicates there are places in Indonesia facing such levels of conversion and most commentators are highlighting that there is a major issue around apostasy. If people havecome to the conclusion that ICG are stating the 2 million figure as fact, we can make clear this is not the case. ICG have not stated this. 2. If the number is higher or lower does that take away from the responsibility of supporting the Muslims in need there? Does it take away from the fact that there are people today who were born into houses that glorified Allah is one, and those same individuals leave this world saying Allah, the one, the magnificent, has a son and a mother?”

It also seems noteworthy that the project is apparently totally based outside Indonesia; they don’t seem to yet have any solid contacts in country. And it’s a great tribute to what God is doing through the Indonesian church that the reasons cited for conversion of Muslims include: • intense worship of Indonesian believers • the peace Maryam gets when she listens to Christian broadcasts• Her Islamic context makes her feel suffocated and depressed• Christian friends inviting her to Christian events• Her Christian friends are like a family who give her love and support• Many of her Muslim friends have become Christians and they’re reaching out to her• When she’s with Christians, she feels a sense of belonging and purpose to her life

So the response proposed to counter this is “more Islamic knowledge” and collecting money to launch an Islamic TV channel. They’ve definitely made effective use of mass media and hope to do more.

So much doesn’t ring true about the video. But it’s certainly an interesting item. I wonder how much money they’ll make off this?